Midnight Memories
by biscea
Summary: A Adventure story set 20 years in the future. After being kidnapped from their home, can Kia and Suin find the cause of the Miasma and avoid being recaptured by the powerful Jack Moshet? CHPT 5 is up, please R&R!
1. Chapter 1: Beginnings

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles does not belong to be, neither do any of the places in this story except Kaiuna. The enemies are all in the game, but the main characters (at the minute this is Kia and Suin) belong to me. Sorry if they are like you and/or your characters!

Chapter One-The Beginning

2 years ago, a town was formed from people from everywhere escaping the monsters. For, even though the crystals had protected the town from miasma and monster, they had to be renewed each year with myrrh, and two years ago, all the myrrh trees everywhere wilted and died. The monsters, with newfound strength attack the towns and villages, and forced Lilties, Yukes, Clavats and Selkies everywhere to flee. They built a new city, surrounded with walls reaching up into the sky, and crowned with a bubble, which let air in, but miasma out. But even though this town kept the monsters out, it trapped the people inside. The city is divided into two sections. The smaller section is the 'rich' district, which only the richest people live in, and the roads are paved with marble. In here are also universities, palaces, library, and other luxuries. But anyone not rich enough to live in here (which was 89 percent of the population) lives in the slums. These are riddled with crime and poverty. Welcome to the city of Kaiuna.

Kia sprinted round the corner, followed by five Lilties, her long, unkempt blond hair streaming out behind her. The bag in her hand, holding only a piece of meat and a tiny cup of water was sacred here. Luckily for her, Selkie speed outmatches Lilties any day. The Lilties were part of the self-proclaimed rulers of the slums. All food went to them first, with the scraps maybe finding the stomachs of everyone else. Kia was an outlaw from the outlaws. She was once a part of their ruler ship, but, stealing just about everything she could find, she escaped with her two friends. She glanced behind her. The Lilties were catching up. How? She had been awake for the last three days, while these guards were freshly awake.

Then, suddenly, she fell over a loose pebble. Tripping, she crashed down to the ground, and slid along the road. She quickly got back up and dived into a run, but she was too late. The Lilties caught her, and quickly ripped the bag from her and tied up her wrists with rope, before leading her to a warehouse with two doors leading to the city, and two open trapdoors, which she knew led to the outside world. They sat her down on a table, and tied both her feet to the steel legs. She struggled, but they had tied her too well. The tallest Lilty stepped up to her and cut one of her wrists. The blood dripped out, and the five Lilties sniggered before strolling out, closing the two doors behind them.

Kia, stunned, knew exactly what they had done. It was a rumour around Kaiuna that if you were too dangerous to the Hand (the name of the clan that ruled the city), they would sacrifice you to the lizardmen. Lizardmen could smell fresh blood a mile away, which was why they cut her wrist. These lizardmen would take you to work in Moschet Manor as a slave. The owner of Moschet Manor, Jack Moschet, was one of the main rulers of the monsters. He ruled over the land that was once dominated by Marr's Pass and Alfitaria. By the way, Kaiuna is situated just west of Alfitaria, the great capital once ruled by the Lilties. The sound of footsteps woke her from her dreams. At once she knew whom they belong to. They were coming.

Out of the twin trapdoors spewed several lizardman, all armed with spears. The last one to climb out was a ferocious looking giant Lizardman, armed to the teeth with daggers, maces, swords and other evil weapons Kia didn't know. There was about 30 of them in total, too many for her fight if she was unbound and with her racket. They circled her, moving slowly in until they formed a tight circle. The leader stepped forward, and looked Kia up and down before spitting at her.

"Selkie scum. Though, His Lord might like you." he rasped. She flinched at his voice. He barked out a few words Kia couldn't understand, before shuffling back over to the trapdoor. The 3 next largest reptiles strode over to her, and unbound her feet. Before she could kick out, they grabbed them and tied them back together. Then, they lifted her up, as if she was no more than a feather, being picked up by the wind. They carried her over to the crude trapdoor, and threw her down. She hurt all over as she stopped at the bottom of the muddy slide. Then, the Lizard in front of her picked her up again, and strode off down the mucky tunnel.

After about half an hour, they burst out into sunlight. Kia gasped. Even though the smell of Lizard flesh burning in the sun was horrific, she could smell the fresh breeze for the first time in her life. Sweet birdsong filled her ears as they marched towards a camp, just in front of a forest. They marched into it, and she was roughly pushed into a wooden cage, at the bottom of a large pyramid of cages. There must have been at least 50 cages there, and of those, 3 of them were human, 30 of them were animals, 13 were empty and the rest were filled with Lizardmen. 'Criminals' Kia thought. The humans were in a row at the bottom, with the beasts above them, and the Lizardmen above them. Even in their lowest moments, the Lizardmen were more important then the animals and people. A rather large splodge of muck landed in the cage, just in front of her. Yuck.

She glanced around at the two other people, either side of her. One of them was a Clavat, and a girl at that. She can't have been more than 6, and she was crying after just being woken up by the new arrival. A smelly lizardman (who was in charge of the cages) hit her cage, which scared her to sleep again. And on the other side was a male Selkie. He was already staring at her, and she blushed. Lots of the boys at home had fancied her, but not a stranger like this. He was wearing a tatty bandana, and torn and muddy white clothes. In fact, he was quite handsome. She immediately dismissed the thought from her head, and started looking around for a way out.

She saw that the camp was starting to be packed up, and a large cart was being prepared from a stock of planks. It didn't look like it would hold their weight, but the Lizardmen started placing the animals on at the bottom. Three big cages were then placed on top, and the lizardmen were sorted into two of them. In the final one, the boy was chucked into first, followed by the little girl. Two Lizardmen then picked her up and flung her into the cage after her. She landed in an embarrassing position, landing on her front, at right angles to the boy, and their faces were only centimetres apart. She quickly pulled away, and the boy looked away, but she could see him blush under the flop of hair. She smiled.

Suin was enchanted by her as soon as she was flung into her cage. To him, she was just so…beautiful. But he turned his mind back to the job. He had to free the Lord's Son from the slavery of Jack Moschet and kidnap his wife, Maggie. She would be used for bartering for the release of the slaves. And if he picked up the girl during his plan…even better.

The rattling of the cart had soothed away as Kia fell asleep. When she was awoken, it was dark, and the stars lit up the darkened sky. It reminded her of a song she had heard from her granny, from when she had gone on a Crystal Caravan.

"Dreaming of the stars on high, that speak to me in secret signs, drifting on a breeze, only I can feel…"

The cart had stopped, and as she peered out into the darkness, she could see the outline of the great Moschet Manor. It was time for her adventure to begin…

Author's Note: Well this is the start of the story! By the way, Kia is a raccoon tail selkie, Suin is a Bandanna selkie, and the little girl is a White Coat Clavat. More characters coming up in the next chapter, plus lots of fighting! Please review!


	2. Chapter 2: Forgotten

Hi again! It's taken me almost a week to update… sorry! Well, here it is at last! Hope you like it! Also, I don't own Crystal Chronicles. Wish I did, but hey!

Chapter Two-Forgotten

The caravan drew up in the courtyard of Moschet Manor. It was deserted, except for a single cherry blossom, with its petals falling onto the cold stone floor.

'I thought he was meant to be an evil maniac!' Kia whispered to Suin, without really knowing she was talking to anyone.

'Listen, Kia, I'm going to create a distraction, you must run and hide. And please take Shilla with you.' Kia pondered over how he knew her name for a bit, then decided that was a good plan.

Suddenly, two large Ochus (large plants with two long, sticky arms) stormed out of a door, and scuttled over to the cart. Kia looked around, and saw that the other Lizardmen were waiting around outside the gates. The Lizardman in charge if the crates started to take them off, and the Ochus were unlocking the cages of the Lizardmen. When their cage reached the ground, the Ochu struck out at Suin, and quickly unlocked the cage. Suin, taking his chance immediately, sprung out and lunged at the Ochu. They fell over in a fight, and the remaining Ochu and the lizardman ran over to help. Kia crept out of the cage, carrying the sleeping Clavat.

She crept into the shadow of a balcony, but not before secretly unlocking one of the animal's cages. It was a large cat, with purple and white stripes. It leapt forward, and with a deafening roar leapt on the Lizardman, the one who had kept him captive in a very small crate, just to be a pet in someone's zoo. Kia looked away as it tore the Lizardman to bits, staining its coat with blood. It was a gruesome sight. Now the vicious cat, wanted, needed another target. And it found Kia. It prowled over. Kia stole a breath. She had fought before, but not like this. Without a weapon she was helpless. She crashed into a stone platform behind her and realised she had been backing up without knowing. Placing the young girl carefully on the stone platform, just out of reach of the man-eating cat, she gulped as she turned to face the Cat. Kia's mind wandered around her life, wondering what was the point if she was to die now? What would her two brothers do without her? Even though they were older than her, she was their main source of food. The cat turned toward her. She strayed even further back, to when her parents were alive. The cheerful grins, the happy laughs. A small tear rolled down her cheek to land on the floor. But there was only one. Kia straightened up, and looked her enemy in the eye. It was a defying stare, which was saying 'Do Your Worst.'

"Good Luck Suin. Good Luck Shilla." Kia whispered. The Cat drew closer. Wait! She didn't want to die! Well, not just yet. There had to be a way out. The cat prowled a metre closer. It was now so close, Kia could reach out and touch it. Kia closed her eyes as the final blow came.

But Suddenly, a dark shadow whizzed in front of Kia and leapt into the Tiger. Kia opened her eyes, as the blow didn't come. She saw the shadow, and asked herself "Suin?" But she caught a glismpe of a strand of spiky red hair, so it couldn't be Suin. Then who was it? The boy glanced up, took in her confused face and shouted at her, "I am The Forgotten. Do not worry, and take this." This confused her even more. Then, the boy chucked her a red stone. Fire swirled around inside it. It was a magicite! But these were the stuff of legends, so how was she to use it? Then she got a nagging in her head to try, so she did. And afterwards really loved it. A line of flames shot up and incinerated the three Lizardmen who had come in to help. But it wasn't enough. Hundreds more poured in, and surrounded the party. Lights had been lit in most of windows, sleeping people disturbed by the fight. Kia sighed. Their attempt to escape had failed. Who were they, just three people, to defy the empire of Jack Moschet? Hey, wait. Where had that boy with the red hair gone? He had been there, she was certain. But now he was gone. She looked around, but there was no sight of him. The ring of Lizardmen closed in, and Kia knew that was their chance. Gone.

The next day, she was woken up before the sun rose. All night they had spent sleeping in cramped up cages, hand and feet bound. Now, they were led to a large dining room, with a long, polished table running down the middle. On the other side of the t able was a rather large Jack Moschet. Kia couldn't help thinking he looked like a monkey. A large monkey. Next to him was his wife, Maggie. She was half fish, half woman, with long multicoloured hair. She had started eyeing up Suin as soon as he entered, and Kia could tell why.

Just then, Jack booming voice interrupted her thoughts. " You are now slaves to me, the great and wonderful Jack Moschet!" Kia rolled her eyes. Ignoring her (or not seeing her) Jack continued, " Boy, you will work for the Lizardmen. You shall do whatever they say. Take him away." Suin face paled. He knew what they would do. He had only killed one of their leading officers!

Next, he turned to Shilla. " You shall work for the cooks, the Tonberry Chefs. Go now." Kia felt sorry for her. She knew the rumours. The Tonberry Chefs were silent, but deadly. They wouldn't speak, but they were vicious drivers.

Finally, he turned his massive head to Kia's direction. "And you… for nearly killing one of prized pets… you will work in my Zoo." Jack smirked at this.

As Kia was lead away, she was feeling secretly proud. Did they think she was the one who attacked the cat? Wow. That means they thought she was powerful! But all the same, what would the zoo be like?

Kia and her guard (a rather fat lizardman) reached the end of the corridor, and paused in front of a large but simple wooden door. The guard took out a long, metal key. Time seemed to slow as he turned it in the lock, and pulled open the door.

Inside was a large, dark, musty room, with cages scattered about. The animals looked starved, and Kia had no doubts they were. Their water trays were empty and were gathering dust, and almost no light filtered through the barred window. Suddenly, two long dark shadows stepped out of the gloom. It was two Yukes, and both male by the looks of it. One of them stepped forward again, and spoke with a rasping voice.

"New One…" he spluttered through the grill in his helmet. Kia winced. It was horrible. "Welcome to our home, and your one too. The Rules are" He took a breath, before continuing "You do everything we say."

The other one stepped out, until he was equal with his friend. Then he spoke. "No asking questions."

"No trying to escape"

"No touching the animals"

"You must only stay in the cage for 2 minutes."

Here, they turned around and marched back to a comfy looking sofa, sat down, and started whispering to each other. Well, Kia sighed. This was it.

An hour later, she stood in front of a cage door. With all the others done, this was her last one. Clean, feed, water. It would only take a minute. As she stepped in, she didn't notice the whispering stop and muffled footsteps. She only turned around when it was too late.

The Yukes had crept up behind her. "Now it's time for our plan," one called to her, while opening the door. The large bear (the owner of this cage) sprinted towards the escape, and ran towards the locked door. With two large crashes, the bear broke through. Out into the open courtyard.

Kia started towards the cage door, when it flew closed, pushed by the Yuke. He locked it, leaving her on the wrong side of the bars. Then he went and unlocked the other cages, while the second Yuke was preparing something in a corner. When all the animals were out, he turned around. With a flaming stick. This he threw to the nearest cage, and it set the straw insides alight. Kia was dreading their next move. Both of them wandered towards her, and giggled like children.

"Thanks for all the work, it gave us our chance to escape. But we couldn't let you go, you'd tell everyone about our leave. Goodbye girl." With this, he slapped her across the face, making her fall back. They turned and left her. She was alone.

The flame jumped from cage to cage, but its licking flames could not reach her cage. But it was only a matter of time before the light coating of hay on the floor caught fire. Then her time was up. This time, she was going to die.

Did ya like it? I finally got round to uploading it! Woo! Reviews are welcome, just drop by a 'good' or a 'bad' and that I'll be great! If you have anything I could improve on…brilliant! Next chapter will be up…if I get enough reviews!


	3. Chapter 3: Wishing Myself Away

Chapter 3- Wishing myself away

Finally a new chapter! Read, Review and Enjoy! Crystal Chronicles doesn't belong to me, but Kia, Suin and Shilla do! Do steal if you want a cookie!

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Kia glanced at the wooden bars, and knew what to do. She leapt up, and kicked the wooden door. It had been weakened by the flames, and as she landed, Kia smiled and raised one eyebrow. It wasn't so hard, really.

She felt the heat of the fire behind her and realized this was no time to be gloating in her own glory. She leapt over a small flame and dashed towards the door. She reached out, in mid run, and suddenly it opened before her. She fell though, lost her footing and sprawled out on the floor. Twice in two days.

"Now isn't the time to be lying around" a cold voice echoed around her head. She glanced up and saw the deep purple eyes of the tiger who had tried to kill her earlier today. She leapt up and tried to defend herself. It seemed to laugh at this, but it ended up sounding like the tiger was coughing.

"Get on. We have to get out." Kia didn't move. Why should she trust a tiger? The tiger turned to walk away. "Suit yourself" IT started to prowl away, into the shadows of the hall.

"Wait!" Kia called after it. She ran up behind it. And put her hand on its back. "If you promise not to kill me, please take me out." The tiger seemed to smile, and veered sideways, knocking Kia onto its back. "Hey!" Kia complained, but the tiger had already started running, its powerful legs leaving the dark corridor and entering into the courtyard.

Outside was a battle. A battle being lost by the slaves. Jack Moschet was standing on a balcony, using magic and summoning more monsters. Maggie was standing beside him, healing their troops. A glance back from the tiger told her everything. There would be death tonight, and there was no time to stay.

Kia crouched down on the tigers back, putting her face against its soft fur. It sprung forward onto a Lizardman, killing it in one blow. IT leapt over a dead Clavat, before sprinting to the exit. "We need fire" It told her. She remembered. The magicite that the boy had given her. She took it out of her pocket and summoned its power. Fire!

A line of red flames shot from the stone to the door. It creaked, and then fell backwards. The tiger shot out the door, leaving behind everything. Kia didn't look back. She had to find a new life now.

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Suin ran down a corridor, a more well-lit one than the one Kia had been in. A Lizardman ran round the corner. Suin slashed it three times, and it fell to the floor. He opened the door at the end. Inside was four Tonberry Chefs, two either side of a large counter. Shilla was sitting at the other end, looking frightened. The Tonberry Chefs were getting nearer to her. Suin had to save her. He ran forward, and jumped onto the counter. It was slimy, and he slid to the end, overtaking the Tonberrys. He grabbed Shilla, held her tightly in front of him and jumped back first out the window.

The ground wasn't far below, since the kitchen was the ground floor, so Suin steadied himself on the ground, swung Shilla onto his back and ran to the down burnt door. The battle was at its end, and the Lizardmen were rounding up the survivors. But Suin was dressed in black and no-one noticed as two small figures ran tout of gate, each clutching tightly to their portable crystals. No-one except a small figure, with spiky red hair, sitting high up on the roof. He saw them escape, just as he had seen Kia fleeing. He smiled and ran along the roof and watched them entering the forest.

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Its over! Two large cliff-hangers that will keep you on till the next time! Hope you enjoyed, please review!


	4. Chapter 4: New Faces in a New Life

Hello again! Sorry for the loooong wait, but chapter 4 is finally here.

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy, Most places and Jack Moshet belongs to Squaresoft. All the other stuff belongs to me. So don't steal any of it.

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Chapter 4- New faces in a new life

"Yes, lord. I saw them escape last night, while we were rounding up the troupes." Jack Moshet swore to himself. The boy, mysterious and silent, had been found to be a spy for his enemy. Plus, his tiger had run away too, eager to escape its life in captivity. Jack nodded, and the small bumbling clavat bowed, before exiting. Now he was alone.

The first he did was smash his shaggy fist against the wall. Since yesterday, everything had been going wrong. The fights, the escaped slaves and even his tiger than had been bought for many millions of Gils from far off lands. His lizardmen were still outside, cleaning up the area of blood and broken bodies. After they had finished, he would execute the ones on guards. They had failed to do their job that evening, so they were of no further use. He had no regard for life, whether it be monster or humanoid. But it did annoy him that he would have to get a new batch of guards. In fact, he was just overall annoyed. He fell down heavily into his chair, pounding his fist down on the bell. It was the girl's fault. The stupid selkie bitch. She had tricked him- and now she was going to pay for it.

In under a minute, the huge wooden double doors swung open to reveal the tiny figure of his Chief of Guard. Kritos was his most trusted slave, promoted through the ranks at an extraordinary rate. He was a selkie, a cunning race, but still young- at only about 15. Yet his deep blue eyes betrayed no emotion. He had no feelings. HE was the perfect killing machine.

"Yes, my lord. You called?" he asked, kneeling down on one knee and bowing his head. Jack smiled. Complete devotion.

"Kritos, I have a job for you. Last night, three slaves escaped in two groups, one taking my prize tiger. I want all four of the objects returned. Go alone." He spoke the basic facts, but Kritos could easily read Jack's annoyance and anger. He nodded, and then bowed again, this time standing.

"I will go now." He said in a stately manner, before marching smartly out of the room. Jack sighed, knowing the job was in safe hands. He pushed another button (more calmly this time) and the old, cracked voice of a Tonberry Chef creaked through.

"Bring me up something strong. And tell me wife she can me now." One final evil smile, and he knew his part was played.

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"Oh! Look Rayn! It's a boy!" the exited squeak of high-pitched giggling woke Suin from his sleep. Above him stood two girls, both leaning in very close to his face.

"He's awake Angel!" the other girl said, in a quietly and more subdued voice. He took in the scene. They were alone on the edge of a path in a forest. One of the girls, Rayn, was a quiet, but still beautiful clavat, which rolling, curly locks spilling over her shoulder. The other one was more stunning than beautiful. Blonde and pink hair, also long, but tied up in a ponytail. 'That colour is not natural' he thought to himself, smiling drunkenly as he rubbed his eyes.

"So, what's your name, handsome?" Angel asked, flirting slightly. The other one just smiled.

"Um… my name's Suin." He muttered, blushing slightly. He pushed his hands down, trying to stand up, but two strong pushes made him sit back down.

"Hey!" he complained, but Angel just smirked.

"You are hurt." Rayn explained, carefully picking her words, as trying to not spark something within Angel that might set her off like a firework.

Suddenly, he felt the two girls slip their hands under him and slowly lift him. He was surprised, amazed even. They struggled over to the caravan that lay not further back on the road, and sat him down on the board at the front, where the driver would sit. Then, Rayn climbed on next to him and picked up the reins. Angel sat the other side of him, feet swinging cheerfully. Rayn whispered some soothing words to the mounts, and they slowly started to plod forward. Despite their weight, soon the caravan was speeding down the road.

Angel turned excitedly at Suin and soon began to talk about who they were, where they were going, Where they had been. Most of it rushed straight past Suin, but he sat there smiling, trying to make sense of her words. He found out that they were heading to the only village in the area, a quiet farming town, where the girls would sell some of their finds, buy more food and new weapons and clothes, and ask about new adventures.

But high above their heads, hidden from the carvanners by leaves and other foliage, was the small boy. He had lost Kia in the night, but had been stalking Suin since dawn. HE had already taken Shilla, and now she was up a tree, gagged and trying to scream for help. He had his own agenda and reasons for collecting the lost slaves.

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Not far off, Kia was also waking from a long, cold night. Her clammy hands were still clamped onto the tiger's fur, who was still sprinting through the forest faster than Kia had ever imagined possible. She could see the sweat beads running across his fur, and the tired pants and gasps for breathe.

"Slow down now. We should take a rest." Her comforting words slowed the tiger to a halt, and she leapt off onto the ground while the tiger fell onto her lap.

'We need to get there by nightfall, Kia,' the cold vice echoed round her head.

"Where, where do we need to go so desperately?" she asked, sincerely worried about the effort the tiger was putting into the run.

'I need to get you safe.' He replied. Kia sighed. He had said the same thing ever time she asked for the last day.

It was warmer now, and the sun shining merrily through the green leaves showed it was about mid-day. The entire forest was silent, save for the sigh of the wind caressing the trees and the cheeping of the birds, dancing and spiralling in the air. All was calm.

But soon, sooner than Kia would have liked, the tiger sprung back onto it's feet and motioned it's head for Kia to get on. She clamoured on, and carefully took hold of the exotic fur again. Then, in just a few powerful strides, they were moving at the speed that they had been going at before. Kia crouched down, hunching over his back to make them go the maximum speed possible. Although she was worried, nothing could compare to the thrill she felt with the wind sweeping her hair in ripples behind her, ploughing though the thick coating of leaves.

This was what she lived for. It was the same rush of adrenaline all round her body that she also felt when she was sprinting around the city. The city… she could barely even remember it, even though it had been less than a week ago since she had left. She racked her brain, recalling images of her family, her friends, her home. But there were only blurred pictures, faded and worn. Why was it like this? It was the miasma, she knew, but even since she had been born, it had got stronger and stronger. One day, she though, we wouldn't even remember how to breathe.

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It had only been less than an hour since Jack had sent him that Kritos was riding out of the gates. Like Kia, he also loved the speed and freedom riding could give him. He was perfectly equipped. His horse was rest and fed, and now it's powerful legs were galloping down the path. A sword hung heavy at his side, but he hoped he had no need for it. His main weapon would be himself. He also had 4 doses of the heaviest sleeping drug he could find in the potion room safely padded in the bag hanging the other side of his belt. He wore black loose-fitting garment, but underneath lay a layer of thin mythril armour.

He would reach the town by evening, the very same place that he hoped Kia and Suin would be heading. The Tiger and Shilla would be with one of them, hopefully, so he would catch at least two of them at once. He had to catch Suin before he returned to his lord, and Kia before she could cause any more damage.

Because secretly, he knew the prophecy, even if he didn't believe it. That girl, the one with the golden hair and fresh blue eyes. He smirked to himself. She was going to his my morning.

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Another character, another twist in the story! What is the prophecy? And who are the girls who have rescued Suin? And who will find who first? Remember, please read and review!


	5. Chapter 5: New Beginnings?

Chapter 5: New Beginnings?

"Wake up now! You've slept for long enough!" A shill girl's voice woke Suin up from his long rest. Angel stood above him, hands on hips, holding a large ladle in one of her hands.

"If you want us to take you to town, you better start working." She said, before strolling back outside. Slowly, Suin sat up in his 'bed'. It was two blankets, thrown over a large chest at one end of the caravan late last night. Shaking the drowsiness away, he stood up and stretched. He realised he was still wearing his clothes from yesterday, but then realised he didn't have anything else.

'I'll steal some when I get to the nearest town.' He thought to himself, planning ahead. He climbed out of the caravan at the back, and saw the two girls sitting around the now burnt out camp fire, eating something that looked like soup out of two crude bowls. He went and sat down next to them, and Rayn silently handed him a bowl. As they ate, they talked. Last night, Suin had opened up a bit and told them about the escape from Moshet Manor. After that, they started talking about the world and everything, and after a few bottles of a strange liquid they had picked up in a town up north, they had all got a bit drunk and spent the rest of the evening singing and generally being merry. Suin had a slight headache, but neither of the girls seemed to have any problems. 'Do they do that regularly?' he thought.

"Today, we should arrive in Lunid by lunch." Angel told them, after breakfast had been cleared away. She drew a map on the ground with a stick, which Suin found quite hard to understand. However, Rayn nodded knowingly at the badly drawn map, and started loading things back onto the caravan. Suin helped the best he could, but since he didn't really know where anything went, it was hard. But soon, everything was ready. Just before they set off, Angel came back out of the caravan holding a sword. She gave it to Suin, saying, "You'll walk with me. We need to make sure nothing attacks." He agreed, happy that he could help. At once, Rayn sat back up on the wooden seat at the front of the caravan and eased the large beasts back into action. After a night of sleep, they were eager to get going, and quickly they were plodding along the road. Suin and Angel walked one either side, sometimes rotated to make sure the whole caravan was safe.

As he walked, Suin daydreamed. It had been a long time since he had reported back to his group, but right now he didn't really want to. Right now, he couldn't even remember what the Miasma was like, now the chalice inside the caravan protected him. He had hidden his crystal necklace, a shard from one of the remaining great crystals, inside his top. They were pretty rare, given the small amount of great crystals that remained, and were large targets for thieves. There were no birds singing, like there were in towns, but the trees grew tall and green in the fertile soil. The last time he had been to the city, Kaiuna, he had been disguised by the lack of natural. Even in the posh, rich areas, there were only a few flowers, not these natural wonders like out here. In there, they had become to attached to their technology, he wasn't even sure if they knew what a 'tree' was.

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Meanwhile, in a road not so far away, Kia was resting on the Tiger's back. After the tiger had made her stay on all night so they would reach town soon, she had tied herself on using some bandages in her pocket. It was extremely uncomfortable, but much better than holding on all the time.

"What's your name?" Kia asked, after almost 10 hours of silence. The voice quickly replied "Its Kopa". She would never get used to that instant, private reply. What was Kopa? She had never seen a tiger except in a storybook, and that defiantly wasn't purple and white and could read people's mind. Wait, could it read her mind?

There were so many questions she wanted to ask, and none she could say. Thinking back to the day before, he remembered the small red-haired boy.

"The Forgotten…" she murmured, without really realising. Instantly, Kopa stopped.

"What was that?" he shouted in her mind. Bringing her hands to her head, she begged him to stop. It hurt so much, the anger in his voice.

"I… I don't know!" she stuttered, forcing her voice out through the pain. It subdued, but she still could feel the aftermath of that power that had taken over her head.

"Don't do that again. It hurt." She said, sulkily. The tiger shook it's head and started to run again. They didn't speak until about an hour later, when the tiger slowed down to a walk.

"What's happening?" she asked him, curious about his stopping.

"We're almost there, so you need to go on alone." He exclaimed to her, pointing with one paw to a few faint buildings she could see through the trees. She climbed off Kopa's back, but worried looked at him in the eye.

"What happens if they're there?" she said, panicky. The tiger didn't answer, just slowly started to walk away.

"I don't know. Run away." He replied, before starting to run back down the road.

"Don't go!" she shouted after him, but he had already disappeared into the forest. What if she never saw him again? No, she would. She had to. He was the only one she knew now. Her family, her friends, Suin and Shilla. All gone. She might never see any of them again. Her eyes started to water, but she quickly wiped them away. She had to go into the town.

--

The town was really busy for such a small space. It was only five or six buildings, built up around a fountain with a medium sized crystal in the middle. Kia quickly found her way to the centre, and looked up at the crystal. It was nothing like what she thought it would be. She had always seen pictures of massive, towering crystals, growing with a powerful light. This one was just smaller than her, and a murky greyish purple colour.

"It's polluted." Said a voice next to her. Surprised, she looked up at the person next to her. It was a middle-aged man, in his late twenties, who smiled down at her. Slightly frightened, she didn't reply, and just looked back at the crystal.

"You're new around here, aren't you?" he asked again. This time, she nodded. "Another newbie. You won't last long around here unless you find some friends." He explained, and she finally looked up at him and said, "I don't need friends." He laughed softly, like he had once felt like that himself. "What's your name?" he asked, and she quickly replied "Sarah. I'm called Sarah and I come from a village round here."

"Well, even if you don't need friends, you do need food. Here, come get some food at my inn. I'll give you lunch for free once, but next time you'll have to pay. Kia almost declined, until her tummy started making noises, and she realised she hadn't eaten since yesterday morning. She followed the man, a few steps behind him, so she could still run if anything happened. But he led her to a bustling building, so she felt a little bit better. He pointed to a free seat at the bar, and she sat and waited for him to bring her some food. He quickly returned, carrying a plate of bread and meat, typical Clavat food. She quickly wolfed it down, and the man laughed again.

"You're best to go so the village leader. He's really nice, so he'll give you somewhere to stay." She thanked him for his kindness, and then continued her walk around town. Out of the six buildings, one of which was the inn, she discovered a blacksmith, a grocer, a mill and an alchemist. The final building was the grandest (which wasn't very hard), and the largest. She knocked on the wooden door, and slowly stepped in when an old man's voice called her in.

After a few minutes of explaining her situation and arguing with the old man who led the village, she was shown to a small room with a bed and a bucket of water. Finally, she collapsed into the bed and slept.

--

Around this time, Suin, Angel and Rayn entered the village as well. They parked their caravan just outside the town, in a small clearing in which they hoped it would be safe. Once they got into the town, Angel went marching off the blacksmith to buy some new weapons and armour, and Rayn and Suin took the girl's spoils to the grocer to swap them for money and food.

Suin was surprising at the spoils. They were quite rare, and they got a good price due to Rayn's negotiating skills. They decided to put most of the money back in the caravan, and just take the money they needed back to the town for the evening. After all their duties were done, the three of them went into the inn and found a quiet table hidden in a corner where they could discuss plans for the future.

It hadn't been long under the door swung back open and another stranger walked in. This normally wouldn't have attracted much attention, but this man was different. Dressed in rich clothes with expensive armour, the whole inn went quiet. Even the three in the corner stopped what they were doing to look. The man went up to the bar and exclaimed in a loud voice, "I am Kritos, the leading guard for Sir Jack Moshet." A universal gasp came from the patrons of the inn. Moshet Manor was well known around here, and Kritos had become infamous through rumours and tales of his violent and cold nature.

"I am searching for four individuals. Any people coming forward with information on a young blonde Selkie girl, a Selkie boy of equal age with blue hair and a green bandana, a small Clavat girl in white clothed aged around six, and the final -a young boy with fiery red hair of unknown race, will be rewarded."

Angel and Rayn turned back to Suin, seeing as he fitted on the descriptions to a tee, but he was already gone. The only things left was an open window on the wall behind his seat.

--

I finally updated! Sorry for anyone who's watching this, but at least this chapter is quite long. Please review and criticism is welcome!

DISCLAIMER: Crystal Chronicles doesn't not belong to me. Do not steal ideas or characters.


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